The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1887-01-24

not to vary the breaurn OF q hair
from the course we were running.
Then came down, and sent u man
up to take my place.
:" Have you seen anything? every
body asked as reached the deck.
&" Nothing Pm certain Of | an
swered but we may have develop
ments presently Idon't know if my
heart was beating then, but presume
it was.
"In little while--it may have been
q quarter OF an hour, and just as the
sun was dipping into the horizon-the
man in the rigging called out, Sail
HOP
"Where away?' l asked.
"Dead ahead, sir. l think it's the
boat
"My heart went mp in my mouth, but
/ tried to appear as cool as an iceberg.
| OF course everybody else was all ex-
element, and that was the more rea-
son why | should not be. Besides,
was captain, and nobody else was, as
/ had shown them by sticking to my
course.
"The night came on clear and beau
tiful, and We kept straight on. We
lost sight of the boat as the daylight
faded, but in half an hour or SO we
saw her again, and we still had her
right in line. As we neared her l kept
the ship up a little so as to bring the
boat under our lee, and I put men in
the fore chains and along the sides
with plenty of lines. and made all pos.
sible preparations to make fast. /
knew the men in the boat would be so
chilled with the cold that they would
be nearly helpless, and whatever was
to be done would have to be done by
ourselves.
ave got them out all right, and it
vas as l had surmised; they were
most OF them too benumbed to climb
up the sides, and had to be helped.
| When we were all safe on board We
| tried to hoist the boat in. and she
broke in two with her own weight;
how she ever lived rs long as she did
is mystery.
Capt. Hitchcock told told me they
rowed as long as they could after
leaving the ship, with the intention
OF getting into smoother water hey ond
the gulf stream, and he had thought
that in case ! fell in with the other
boat l would do just as had done.
The two cabin passengers took their
share OF the labor with the rest. They
were both young men with differ.
ence OF perhaps five or six years in
their ages, and had been travelling in
Europe, the elder OF the two being tn.
tor for the younger, who was the son
OF prominent citizen OF New York.
They took passage at Leghorn for
New York, and when their turn came
to enter the long.boat they had done
so without complaint, and had borne
the privations of the night and day as
cheerfully as anyone else.
"All day they had watched and
hoped, hoped and watched, but there
was no sign OF sail. The night
threatened to be cold, and there was
little expectation that any OF the par
~ would live till morning, even if the
boat continued to float. As the sun
neared the horizon the younger man
was lying in the bottom OF the boat,
wrapped in his overcoat and blank
ct. while the elder sat in the stern
with the captain.
"Just as the sun was dipping into
the waves, the elder OF the twain said
to Capt. Hitchcock, that with his
permission, he would offer n prayer
OF course il was given at once. And
never, in all my life, said Capt.
Hitchcock, heard a more beautiful
prayer from the lips of q mortal man.
And as he said amen and | said
amen too, raised my eyes and saw
your sail
Perhaps" said Capt. Raymond to
his group OF listeners, perhaps you'd
like to know the names OF those two
passengersY They are familiar to you
all, and you'll find them at the bottom
OF this letter, which / received, with a
silver pitcher, q few days after we
reached New York. haven't seen it
for some time, until it turned up to-
day while was overhauling my desk.
1t is an old letter, you can see, and
was written before the envelope was
in vented"
The letter was passed around and
handled with great care. 1t was then
read aloud, by one OF the group, and
ran as follows:
New YoRK, December 2S, 1874.
Dear Sir-Desirous OF testiiyingou CRATE.
full sense of the noble disinteredness with
which you stood from your course on the
18th OF December last in search OF the cap
tain, passengers and crew OF the ship Ala
bamian, which foundered on that day at
sea, and OF the kindness we received at
your hands while your guests, we beg your
acceptance OF the accompanying piece OF
plate.